Acetylene-gas generator.



PATENTED JULY 4, 1905.

L. S. BUFFINGTON. AGETYLENE GAS GENERATUR.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.G.1904.

drains :Patented .Tilly et, 1905.

LEPY S. BUFFI Ntr'lUN, OF ltilNNEAPOL ifi, ii/IINNESOTA, ASSlCrNUR T0 THE NURITHERN Lltrlll COl'i/llfjANY, OF hllNNlilPOLlt, MINNESOTA, A UUR SPECIFXCATXOIM formingpait of Letters Patent No. 794,073, dated July 4, 1905.

Application filed February 6, 1904:. Serial No. 192,347.

To all 'Ll/71,0717, 'iff/ nm/y concern:

Be it known that l, lgniaoi" S. ilumine-TON, a citizen ol' the United States, .residing at ldliiiiieapolis, in the county of." Hennepin and State of Minnesota, have invented Acertain `new and useful Improvements in Aeetyleiie- Gas Generators; and l do hereby declare the fiollowing to be a ilull, elear, and exact deseri'ptioii of the invention, such as will enaliile others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine.

My present invention relates to acetyleneg'as geiierators, and has Vfior its espeeial object to provide an improved acetylene-gas lamp.

The invention consists of the Vnovel devices and combinations of" devices .hereinafter described, and defined in the elainis.

The invention is illustrated in the aoco1npanyingr drawings, wherein. like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

lligure l is a View, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, showing an aeety iene-gas lamp of the type known. as stu dents7 laiiip and in which are ineorporated the several features oi my present invention. Fig. 2 is a detail, en an enlarged seale, partly in elevation, but principally in seetion, showing the so-ealled manifold water-leeding tube; and Fig. 3 is a detail in section on the line as ai of Fig. i..

The lamp illustrated is almost identical in appearance with an ordinary .so-called stndents77 lani'p, and in the parts olI the lamp, the numeral 1 indicates the vertical standard., the iiuiiieral 2 the burner, the inniieral 1:3 the shade, the numeral it the cylindrical shell of the generator, and the numerals 5 bearings rigidly secured on said cylinder and loosely fitting on the rod ol said standard. The bearing 6 is hollow and [forms a part ol' the gas-delivery passage between. the generator and the burner 2.

The numeral 7 indieates a sleeve wliieh `is adjnstz'tbly mounted upon the rod oi the standard l between the bearii'igs 5 6 and is provided with a set-screw S fior holding" it wherever set.

The cylinder 4t divided into an upper and a lower compartment by a horizontal partition, E), whieli is l'oriiied with a depending ey lindrieal f lange l0, whieh is extended eoneeiitrieally, but spaced apart frein the depending portions olI the cylinder il. The lower end ot the eylinder sl. is normally elosed by a cap-lile bottoni il. l, which has screw-threaded engagement therewith at l2, a pliable gasket 125 beingr placed between the oiiits o'l the said parts. The bottoni lf is provided with a cylindrical flange tt, which telescopes into the annular spaee if'orined between the eylin der if; and depending flange l0, thus dividing the said. annular eon'ipartinent into an inner and outer annular portion havingr communieation over the upper edge olE the said f lange 1-il-.

Frietionally held within the depending,l eyliiidrical flange i() a earl)id-holder, shown as made up of the cylindrical eup 15, interior cylinder lo, and heads 17. The eup 1,5 has spi'iiigdingers i8, whieh engage the inner snrf'aee of" the flange l() to "frictionally hold the earbid -holder iii nforlinpr position. The heads 1T telescope trietionally onto the ends et the cylinder ifi, and the upper head. provided with perl'i'irations if) for pern'iitting,T the escape ol' gas. (lut of the carbid-holder proper into the conipartnieiit formed within the eylindrieal flange if) a perforate tube 20 is preferably placed axially of and within the (,:ylinder 'lo between the heads 17, and the upper head A17 has a central perforation and the centrally-depeiidingf sleeve 2l ,which telescopes loosely into the upper end ol thesaid perforated sleeve 20. As shown, the cyli1i drieal eu p l5 is lorn'led with a deiviending knol.) or hollow fii'iger-pieee 22, by means of wliieh it maybe readily removed lfroni working position or plaeed iii working position A gas-delivery port 23 opens from the top oiE the generating-clianiber through the parti tion l) into the eondnit or bearing G and ilroin. thence to the burner 2. The burner 2 has a valve 2, by means olI which the `as may be turned on or ofi at will.

At the eeiiter ol the partition is a sinall valve-seat casting 24, from which depends a pair of concentric tubes 25 and 26. The outer tube 26 is closed at its lower end and is provided at points far above its bottom with water-escape passages 27. In the lower end of the inner tube 2.5 is a restricted waterpassage 28, through which works the stem of a check-valve 29, which c heck-valve is normally held open by gravity, but is adapted to be closed by an initial backward flow of the feed-water. The valve-seat casting 24 is provided with a central water-feed pipe leading into the upper end of the inner tube 25 and adapted to be opened and closed by a needle-valve 30. The needle-valve 30 has a radial arm 31 and has screw-tlueaded engagement with the casting 24 at 32, and its threads are slotted at 33 to permit the water to be fed through said screw-threaded engagement to the conical point of the valve.

Fitting telescopically intothe open upper end of the cylinder 4 is a water-supply cup or auxiliary reservoir 34. Above its open lower end this reservoir 34 is provided with a hori- Zontal partition 35, having at its center a downturned neck or Vflanged opening 3G. Just below the partition the walls of the reservoir 34 are perforated at 237, so as to permit air to leak in just below said partition. Then the reservoir or cup 34 is lifted from working position, the neck-opening 36 is closed by a valve 3S, the stem of which works loosely in a sleeve 39, depending from the top of said reservoir. When the said reservoir is placed in working position, as shown in Fig. 1, the check-valve 3S is forced into an open position by its engagement with the upper end of the needle-valve 30. Also at this time the prongs of a bracket 40, depending from the partition 35, embrace the arm 31, so that the valve 30 may be opened and closed by rotary movements of the reservoir or cup 34. l

It is of course an easy mattei' to lill the reservoir or cup 34 with water when it is removed from working position and turned upside down. The primary water-compartment is formed in the upper portion of the cylinder 4 above the partition 9, and this compartment should be partly Vfilled with water while the cup or reservoir .'34 is removed. lVhen the filled cup or reservoir is placed in working position, as shown in Fig. 1, and its valve 3S is opened, water will run therefrom into the main water-compartment until the water reaches the level indicated by the line y in Fig. 1.,-at which time it closes the lower end of the neck 36, cuts olf the supply of air to the closed chamber of said reservoir 34, and thereby stops the further discharge of water therefrom. As soon, however, as the water in the main compartment falls below the line y air is admitted into the closed compartment of the reservoir 34 through the therefrom into the main water-comp artment. By this means the auxiliary supply of water is caused to automatically keep up the head of water in the main water-compartment, so that a ccistant pressure of feed-water is rendered available. The water discharged into the inner water-feed tube 25 will fill up the lower end of the outer feed-tube 26 so as to entirely submerge the check-valve 29 and will overflow through the perforations 27 and will run down the outer sides of said outer tube and drop to the bottom of the perforated tube 20. rlhe feed-perforations 27 are protected from the direct action of the carbid and of the carbid residue by the depending sleeve 21 and, further, by the perforate sleeve 20. Any overgeneration of gas which is sufficient to generate a pressure greater than that of the feed-water will cause a backward flow of the Afeed-water and immediately close the check-valve 2Q, thereby stopping a further backward flow of the water, preventing the escape of gas, and of course for the time being holding back a further supply of water from the generatingchamber. A

To form a water-seal between the relatively lixed and relatively movable parts of the generating-chamber, water is placed in the removable bottom. 11. This water when the parts are put together, as shown in Fig. 1, will rise partly between the depending cylinder 10 and the cylindrical cup 15 and partly between said cylinder 10 and the cylindrical flange 14. Under increasing gas-pressure from within the generating-chamber the inner annular column of water just noted is caused to lower, while the outer annular column is caused to rise and to compress the air above the same and between the cylindrical flange 14 and cylindrical shell 4. A combined water and air cushion is thus provided for relieving the pressure of the generated gas.

It will of course be understood that the device described to wit, the combined generator and burneruis capable of many modifications vithin the scope of my invention as herein set forth and claimed. ln fact, the principal feature of this invention relates to gas-generators, and hence it is evident that these features may be incorporated in a great many different kinds of generators.

vWhat l claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is as foilows:

1. In a generator of the character described, the combination with a shell having an elevated water-compartment and a generating-chamber located below the same and in communication therewith through a restricted watery-feed passage, of a needlevalve cooperating with said restricted passage and provided with a projecting arm, a rotatively and removably mounted auxiliary neck 36 and water is again allowed to flow l water-reservoir normally closing the upper ICO TIO

for vertical movement located in the upper end oit seid shell und commjuniceting with the Water-chatmber thereol. through velved pesseg'e, the valve el: which is` .n.ornmlly held open by the bc'l'ore-notecil feed-valve, and e connection. between. the seid :feed-valve and seid auxiliar)T weter-reservoir wherebyv sind feed-vulve nnry be opened and closed by' rotary movements et seid reservoir.

ln testimon)T whereof .l eHix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

LEROY S. BUFFINGTON.

Witnesses lftoisnnrr C. Mimet, F. D. Mmicjmm'r. 

